Brown boosts Kings to 2-0 series lead

Dustin Brown tallied a pair of shorthanded goals to help the Los Angeles Kings take a 4-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks in Game 2 of this Western Conference quarterfinal series.

Brown also had an assist as he helped the Kings take a 2-0 lead in this best- of-seven series, which now heads back to Los Angeles for the next two games, with Game 3 set for Sunday night.

Jarret Stoll and Trevor Lewis scored while Jonathan Quick posted 46 saves for eighth-seeded Los Angeles, which is in the playoffs for a third straight season, but hasn't won a series since 2001 over Detroit in the conference quarterfinals.

Jannik Hansen and Samuel Pahlsson each lit the lamp for the for the Presidents' Trophy champion Canucks, who will have to rally if they want to defend their Western Conference crown. Roberto Luongo was touched for all four goals on 27 shots.

The first period nearly passed scoreless, but a late power play led to a goal, just not for the team that had the advantage.

With Willie Mitchell near the end of a penalty for holding, Anze Kopitar stole the puck and went in on net. He deked to the backhand and Luongo made the save, but Brown followed up by blasting the puck into the net with 8.6 seconds left in the frame.

It took just 17 seconds into the second period for Vancouver to tie the game as a shot from Henrik Sedin in the high slot was tipped home by Hansen in front.

The Kings and Brown, though, struck shorthanded again exactly five minutes later as he went in on a breakaway and lifted a backhand high over Luongo for a 2-1 lead.

Stoll gave his team a two-goal lead at the 8:30 mark of the third on the power play as he backhanded the puck in from the left side after Justin Williams got the puck to the front.

A wraparound from Lewis at the left side with 5:09 to play gave the Kings a three-goal lead, but Pahlsson scored on a backhand from the slot with 3:38 left to give Vancouver life.

A penalty to Rob Scuderi with 1:44 to play coupled with Luongo getting pulled for an extra attacker gave the Canucks a 6-on-4, but they couldn't make it any closer.

Game Notes

The last King to score shorthanded in the playoffs was Dave Taylor on June 3, 1993 against Montreal in the Cup Finals...The last time the Kings scored two shorthanded goals in the same playoff game was on May 21, 1993 when Jarri Kurri and Taylor turned the trick...Vancouver went 0-for-5 on the power play while Los Angeles was 1-for-4.